There was only one remaining lens in my bag which was not Canon 'L' series glassware

And that was my trusty and sharp Canon EF 100mm 2.8 Macro Lens

Now I was totally happy with it and even following the announcement of the Canon 'L' Series 100mm F2.8 Macro lens with its fancy new Hybrid IS (Image stabilisation) which according to Canon.......

'is able to correct lens shift movement as well as the angular movement that most IS systems can correct. This provides 2-stops of correction during 1.0x magnification, increasing to 3-stops at 0.5x magnification and 4-stops during normal shooting'

I had no plans whatsoever to replace it with the new glass

I mean, the spending has to stop somewhere, right?

After all, how many lenses does a man need?

And then I used one

Curse those people at Canon, they have managed to make another lens which I simply could not do without.

Why?

Now, my 'old' 100mm was sharp, I never had a single complaint about sharpness.

But this I think is the sharpest 35mm DSLR lens I have used

Ever

This lens is so sharp it bites, perhaps it is down to the Ultra Low Dispersion glass they use in its construction?

Have I not done a back to back test with the old lens but to me it seems always markedly sharper

I have managed to use the word 'Sharp' in the previous 5 lines...and I did not mean to, so you get the idea.

Witness the samples bellow, shot for part of a high concept ad campaign when I first borrowed the lens

Firstly a screen shot of the entire image...

Shot at F11 on a Canon 5d MkII rated at 100 ISO

The detail area.....................

The feather detail....WOW! (output as a high res JPG in Capture One Pro 5)

Here is the very minimal degree of sharpening I applied in Capture One Pro 5

So there you have it Canon users, another way to spend your money.....but my goodness what a lens!

It has just been put to great use shooting a new book for the Michelin starred 'The Star Inn' in Harome, North Yorkshire, titled 'Loose Birds and Game'

Watch out for more posts as the book comes nearer to launch later this year, I will be interested to know what you think

All shot by myself and my very finest photo friends.

A finer lens for behind the scenes work in a busy kitchen I could not imagine, the Image Stabilisation was VERY effective

Watch out for more posts as the book comes nearer to launch later this year, I will be interested to know what you think